Former President Donald Trump broadcast a one-minute message on NBC during Sunday Night Football, likely reaching a significantly larger audience than Vice President Kamala Harris did the previous evening with her brief appearance on Saturday Night Live. Due to the FCC’s Equal Time rule, NBC had to allow Trump’s airtime after featuring Harris.
The Federal Communications Commission’s Equal Time rule mandates that networks must offer equivalent opportunities to all candidates. FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr criticized NBC and Harris’s appearance, calling it a “clear and blatant” attempt to sidestep rules meant to ensure fairness in media coverage during election periods. Following Harris’s SNL segment, Trump’s campaign requested airtime, and NBC complied per the FCC regulations.
“NBC has told the FCC that VP Harris appeared on Saturday Night Live for one minute and 30 seconds ‘without charge,’ triggering an opportunity for other campaigns to request time,” journalist Alex Weprin explained. NBC submitted a notice to the FCC confirming that Harris’s SNL cameo was under two minutes and was free of charge, thereby opening the door for Trump’s request.
In an ironic twist, Trump’s Sunday night message likely reached a much broader audience since it aired during NBC’s coverage of NASCAR’s Xfinity 500 and the Minnesota Vikings-Indianapolis Colts NFL game. Sunday Night Football often attracts over 20 million viewers, vastly outpacing SNL’s average of around 5 million, even on a high-rated episode.
In his message, Trump addressed the state of the U.S. economy, following a poor jobs report. “The worst economic numbers in generations were just announced two days ago,” he said. “We’re losing jobs. We’re losing everything, including viability. We’re going to end up in a depression based on what’s been happening.”
He continued, “We have to straighten out our country, we have to close our borders, we have to lower our taxes, we have to get rid of inflation, and we’re going to do it.”
